Ultrabook recommendations/opinions
Discussion
Topic comes up regularly, but the last time I can see is late 2022, which is a long time in politics 
My 6yr old Lenovo X1 Carbon is now starting to get a bit long in the tooth. It's been a great machine, taken a lot of hammer and still does more or less what I need, but with a few increasing irritants (clicking the trackpad is becoming hit and miss, one of the USB-C ports is loose - a flaw with the connector in my use on a couple of laptops, and the hdmi output stopped working 18mths ago - possibly software related, maybe now).
The obvious answer would be to replace it with another X1 Carbon. But at over 2k for a good spec, that's not a shoe in.
Research is showing up a mix of possibilities...
- Macbook...was a user for 16yrs until I switched to the Lenovo. Escalating cost pushed me away, then reliability with one I bought (touchbar MB Pro) plus the keyboards becoming incredibly poor (butterfly ones when I last looked)
- Dell XPS... Bad experience of one when I finally stumped up for the Lenovo. Unreliable, poor keyboard, cheap feeling.
- Asus Flip 15 OLED... looks like a really good option, but getting hold of one is nigh on impossible
Anyone have any other suggestions/direct experience of the above?
My 6yr old Lenovo X1 Carbon is now starting to get a bit long in the tooth. It's been a great machine, taken a lot of hammer and still does more or less what I need, but with a few increasing irritants (clicking the trackpad is becoming hit and miss, one of the USB-C ports is loose - a flaw with the connector in my use on a couple of laptops, and the hdmi output stopped working 18mths ago - possibly software related, maybe now).
The obvious answer would be to replace it with another X1 Carbon. But at over 2k for a good spec, that's not a shoe in.
Research is showing up a mix of possibilities...
- Macbook...was a user for 16yrs until I switched to the Lenovo. Escalating cost pushed me away, then reliability with one I bought (touchbar MB Pro) plus the keyboards becoming incredibly poor (butterfly ones when I last looked)
- Dell XPS... Bad experience of one when I finally stumped up for the Lenovo. Unreliable, poor keyboard, cheap feeling.
- Asus Flip 15 OLED... looks like a really good option, but getting hold of one is nigh on impossible
Anyone have any other suggestions/direct experience of the above?
I am typing this on my daily driver which is a 2019 XPS13. I specced it with i7/16GB of RAM to maximise longevity and it has been pretty faultless apart from one rubber foot falling off.
Keyboard isn't great but it all still works as it should. 3 USB C/Thunderbolt ports and the machine can be charged via any of them.
As you say, it will be £2k to replace it which is a bit rich for me...
Keyboard isn't great but it all still works as it should. 3 USB C/Thunderbolt ports and the machine can be charged via any of them.
As you say, it will be £2k to replace it which is a bit rich for me...
Macbook - Apple gave up on the awful 'butterfly' keyboard, modern Macbooks no longer have this, so not a worry any more.
M series CPUs are way ahead of anything else in terms of both power and energy usage - I usually get 2 working days out of a 16" M1 Macbook Pro without recharging.
No matter how much I do, I've not managed to get the fans running on an M1 MacBook Pro, even working on 4k video edits.
Downside: you can't run Intel VMs on them any more, and if gaming is your thing, don't go down this route, 'cause games aren't widely available.
M series CPUs are way ahead of anything else in terms of both power and energy usage - I usually get 2 working days out of a 16" M1 Macbook Pro without recharging.
No matter how much I do, I've not managed to get the fans running on an M1 MacBook Pro, even working on 4k video edits.
Downside: you can't run Intel VMs on them any more, and if gaming is your thing, don't go down this route, 'cause games aren't widely available.
I was a massive fan of Apple products until 2016-18...
The Air has big appeal (didn't realise they were on M3 now).... But the lack of on-board connectivity still grates (my X1 Carbon has 2x USB-C... and HDMI, and 2x USB-A, and a 3.5mm audio jack, and an SD card slot...similar form factor with a 14" screen, no notch, lighter etc).
Will have another look at one... But there's also the ball ache factor (I don't have a current Mac license for Office, Photoshop Elements, not on Mac Mail etc...and I have an Android phone).
The Air has big appeal (didn't realise they were on M3 now).... But the lack of on-board connectivity still grates (my X1 Carbon has 2x USB-C... and HDMI, and 2x USB-A, and a 3.5mm audio jack, and an SD card slot...similar form factor with a 14" screen, no notch, lighter etc).
Will have another look at one... But there's also the ball ache factor (I don't have a current Mac license for Office, Photoshop Elements, not on Mac Mail etc...and I have an Android phone).
The 12th gen X1 is brilliant, and will come down in price gradually (especially if you combine it with a coupon / sale).
The 11th gen also really decent (but don't go near the 10th gen).
Alternatively the T14s Gen 4 offers the same power with an excellent keyboard, but just slightly heavier.
The Zenbooks look nice enough, but aren't a patch on the X1 in terms of a quality experience. I've had nothing but trouble with Dell laptops.
The Mac M series have the best CPUs right now, but I couldn't stomach the leap to OS X personally.
The 11th gen also really decent (but don't go near the 10th gen).
Alternatively the T14s Gen 4 offers the same power with an excellent keyboard, but just slightly heavier.
The Zenbooks look nice enough, but aren't a patch on the X1 in terms of a quality experience. I've had nothing but trouble with Dell laptops.
The Mac M series have the best CPUs right now, but I couldn't stomach the leap to OS X personally.
I have the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra, since been superceded by the 4: https://www.samsung.com/uk/computers/galaxy-book/g...
Brilliant oled screen, 4070 graphics and i9 make for a decent setup.
Brilliant oled screen, 4070 graphics and i9 make for a decent setup.
dan98 said:
The 12th gen X1 is brilliant, and will come down in price gradually (especially if you combine it with a coupon / sale).
The 11th gen also really decent (but don't go near the 10th gen).
Alternatively the T14s Gen 4 offers the same power with an excellent keyboard, but just slightly heavier.
The Zenbooks look nice enough, but aren't a patch on the X1 in terms of a quality experience. I've had nothing but trouble with Dell laptops.
The Mac M series have the best CPUs right now, but I couldn't stomach the leap to OS X personally.
They're great machines... But the spec I'd want is 2.4k...The 11th gen also really decent (but don't go near the 10th gen).
Alternatively the T14s Gen 4 offers the same power with an excellent keyboard, but just slightly heavier.
The Zenbooks look nice enough, but aren't a patch on the X1 in terms of a quality experience. I've had nothing but trouble with Dell laptops.
The Mac M series have the best CPUs right now, but I couldn't stomach the leap to OS X personally.
Maybe I wait until this one dies.
dan98 said:
<stuff>
The Mac M series have the best CPUs right now, but I couldn't stomach the leap to OS X personally.
We haven’t had OS X for some time, it’s up to Mac OS 14 now The Mac M series have the best CPUs right now, but I couldn't stomach the leap to OS X personally.
It’s funny, there’s no way I can stomach using Windows. Occasionally I have to when my clients only have Windows devices, and every time I find myself wondering how MS have achieved the monopoly that they have with such a flaky, unstable, badly designed OS.
I had the delightful experience of using Windows 11 (albeit via a Citrix terminal system) at my last client - it seems like Windows 10 with a few new quirks added for fun.
Thankfully, my company laptop and my personal laptop are both Mac, so I don’t have to endure MS too much.
All personal taste of course, but I’ll stick with Unix based tech.
Edited by Magnum 475 on Monday 22 April 20:08
Thankfully I'm bilingual 
A Win11 setup without bloatware is as good as MacOS IME (OH has an Intel Air and I have a couple of Minis still giving service.)
I genuinely appreciate both. But the hurdles noted above make going back to Mac more of a pain.
Ironically what sent me back to Windows were spiralling Mac book prices for relatively low specs. That seems to have gone into full reverse at present.
A Win11 setup without bloatware is as good as MacOS IME (OH has an Intel Air and I have a couple of Minis still giving service.)
I genuinely appreciate both. But the hurdles noted above make going back to Mac more of a pain.
Ironically what sent me back to Windows were spiralling Mac book prices for relatively low specs. That seems to have gone into full reverse at present.
[quote=Murph7355]The Air has big appeal (didn't realise they were on M3 now).... But the lack of on-board connectivity still grates (my X1 Carbon has 2x USB-C... and HDMI, and 2x USB-A, and a 3.5mm audio jack, and an SD card slot.../quote]
You sure you want an ultrabook?
For Lenovo money i would be all over a MacBook Pro M3.
You sure you want an ultrabook?
For Lenovo money i would be all over a MacBook Pro M3.
MikeHo said:
Murph7355 said:
The Air has big appeal (didn't realise they were on M3 now).... But the lack of on-board connectivity still grates (my X1 Carbon has 2x USB-C... and HDMI, and 2x USB-A, and a 3.5mm audio jack, and an SD card slot.../quote]
You sure you want an ultrabook?
For Lenovo money i would be all over a MacBook Pro M3.
Like most people I want my cake and eat it You sure you want an ultrabook?
For Lenovo money i would be all over a MacBook Pro M3.
Weight's a consideration as it does get carried around a bit. And the MBP is till light on connectivity (stubornness/forward thinking of Apple).
I also wanted to try and avoid the expense of the Lenovo replacement.
All the reviews I'm seeing of the Zenbook 14 OLED are pretty raving.
I need to find a bit of time to go and look at some I think.
I may try and eek out the current X1 for 6mths and see what's around at that point. (Fool's errand with tech I know).
Magnum 475 said:
We haven’t had OS X for some time, it’s up to Mac OS 14 now
It’s funny, there’s no way I can stomach using Windows. Occasionally I have to when my clients only have Windows devices, and every time I find myself wondering how MS have achieved the monopoly that they have with such a flaky, unstable, badly designed OS.
I had the delightful experience of using Windows 11 (albeit via a Citrix terminal system) at my last client - it seems like Windows 10 with a few new quirks added for fun.
Thankfully, my company laptop and my personal laptop are both Mac, so I don’t have to endure MS too much.
All personal taste of course, but I’ll stick with Unix based tech.
Yes quite, each to his/her own - I'm forced to use both on a daily basis. It’s funny, there’s no way I can stomach using Windows. Occasionally I have to when my clients only have Windows devices, and every time I find myself wondering how MS have achieved the monopoly that they have with such a flaky, unstable, badly designed OS.
I had the delightful experience of using Windows 11 (albeit via a Citrix terminal system) at my last client - it seems like Windows 10 with a few new quirks added for fun.
Thankfully, my company laptop and my personal laptop are both Mac, so I don’t have to endure MS too much.
All personal taste of course, but I’ll stick with Unix based tech.
Edited by Magnum 475 on Monday 22 April 20:08
I don't find the Mac OS (?) stable at all in networked environments and the 'Finder' (?) a bit cartoon-like compared to the Windows equivalent.
Using W10 I literally don't remember a single crash in more than 10 years daily hard use.
Not to mention, in many more specialist lines of work (mine included), the software simply doesn't exist on Mac.
And....being forced to carry around adapters to make basic connections such as ethernet, HDMI etc. is a deal breaker anyway.
Don't get me wrong I used to be a full time Mac user, when they catered for certain niches better than anyone else but their focus has changed these days.
To the OP, check out the T14s - same weight as a Macbook Air, still the premium Lenovo quality, fully featured connections and can be had for 1k if you hold out for the right time. If you really need to max out the spec, you'll be paying heavily whichever way you go.
For casual use the Zenbook is fine - one to avoid for serious work IME. You generally get what you pay for with this stuff.
Murph7355 said:
Weight's a consideration as it does get carried around a bit. And the MBP is till light on connectivity (stubornness/forward thinking of Apple).
I agree the MBP isn't the lightest. But for connectivity ..... why do you need USB-A ??? My 2021 MBP M1 has 3 USB-C/Thunderbolt, 3.5 headphone jack, HDMI and SD slot plus they reinstated the magsafe but you can charge from USB-C if you want.I wouldn't want or need something with USB-A it's nearly 30 years old.
MikeHo said:
I agree the MBP isn't the lightest. But for connectivity ..... why do you need USB-A ??? My 2021 MBP M1 has 3 USB-C/Thunderbolt, 3.5 headphone jack, HDMI and SD slot plus they reinstated the magsafe but you can charge from USB-C if you want.
I wouldn't want or need something with USB-A it's nearly 30 years old.
..looks down at workstation and notices 4 devices purchased in the last 12 months with USB-A connection. I wouldn't want or need something with USB-A it's nearly 30 years old.
APPLE keyboard
Elgato Streamdeck
Topping DAC
1TB USB Key
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